Thursday, January 17, 2019

Cherry Blossom Sakura Flowers Fused Glass Painting

Delicate cherry blossoms in transparent and opaque shades of pink bloom on a painted branch.

Fused Glass Cherry Blossoms Floating on a Sky of Glass

This glass painting was inspired by a photo taken in Kyoto Japan of cherry blossom trees being pruned. My husband took this picture in March at the beginning of cherry blossom season in Mainland Japan. In Okinawa, where we live now, cherry blossom season is in January.

Workers pruning cherry blossom trees in Kyoto Japan.

The sky is a gradient in shades of blue enamels painted on a piece of white Bullseye sheet glass. I tried for loose brush strokes to create lots of soft movement. To create the branch, I used different shades of brown for the striations and shading on the bark. After the enamel was set, I added blooms made from Bullseye crushed glass in both opaque and transparent glass. The glass painting was then heated in the kiln to 1475 degF for a full fuse.

The sky painted with enamels.

The tree branch painted with enamels and sprinted with frit.

After the first firing, I added more Bullseye crushed glass so some of the flower blooms would be raised and add texture to the finished piece. I then re-fired this glass painting to soften the edges of the frit for a slight contour fuse.

Adding more frit before a second firing.

I love how the the layers of petals give such depth against the painted blue sky. I hope this fused glass painting of the cherry blossoms blooming helps to capture the moment.